The Anderson & Associates survey team has been working with Virginia Tech on a substantial stormwater inventory project over the course of the last year. A&A crews covered approximately 1,100 acres to collect data on nearly 1,400 stormwater structures. We collected data with an accuracy of plus or minus 0.05 feet on these structures which included manholes, curb inlets, yard inlets, grate inlets, combination inlets, culverts, hand made structures, open channels, wet and dry ponds, and roof drains.

To maintain accurate readings and manage a vast amount of data, a combination of conventional and GPS surveying techniques was utilized. Crews collected attribute information on tablet PCs in Access file format. The collected data was incorporated into an AutoCAD environment and made available in an Access Database. Virginia Tech was provided with comprehensive digital copies of all storm lines and structures.

Crews processed the data in digital format at the gathering point in the field using a program written by A&A’s Steve Spillane. "With the immense amount of data we collected on this project, the tablet PCs were essential to saving time and processing this data efficiently. We eliminated the paper and compiling," current project manager Chris Kaknis said.

The initial project was started in 2004 and completed earlier this year. Addenda were added to the initial scope of work and the second phase of field work was started in September and the data will be submitted in October. "We started this project a year ago and recently completed our addenda activities. Now we will be on hand to answer any questions Virginia Tech may have," Chris said. A&A was also able to incorporate site plans from other campus projects into an AutoCAD environment for the university to aid in referencing structure locations.

With the construction associated with the growth of campus, this information will serve many purposes for the university. Virginia Tech will be able to utilize this data in a storm model which will aid the university in identifying and correcting leak problems, understanding the capacity of the system, and planning for future development.